Tuesday, May 1, 2018

China Wanda's Billionaire Wang Jianlin and self declared Shanghaî Disneyland biggest foe opened its $8 billion Qingdao Oriental Movie Metropolis - or Dong Fang Ying Du - on Saturday. The project is claimed to be the world’s largest studios, and also include a commercial complex covered with giant portraits of Charlie Chaplin, Marilyn Monroe and Bruce Lee. There’s also a reclaimed island with luxury hotels, condos, two theaters and a yacht club.

Covering an area equivalent to more than 200 football fields, the 400-acre Qingdao Oriental Movie Metropolis has been touted as China’s answer to Hollywood. Wang, whose group controls U.S. cinema chain AMC Entertainment Holdings Inc and U.S. studio Legendary Entertainment, promised generous subsidies for film makers but indicated a focus on China’s domestic film market.

“We will boost the Chinese movie industry development,” Wang said at the project’s opening ceremony. “We will also turn Qingdao into a global hub for film,” he said, making no reference to Hollywood in his brief speech.

Years ago, at the 2013 breaking ground event, Wanda had invited Leonardo Di Caprio, Nicole Kidman and John Travolta along with Chinese stars. Last week-end was less glamorous with no red carpet or global superstars at the grand theater, where the one-hour ceremony took place, though hundreds of Chinese film industry representatives attended, as well as Hollywood executives and Chinese government officials.

The reason why is because the Wanda Group has been under tight government scrutiny in recent years, particularly over its high profile overseas investments with the acquisitions of Legendary Entertainment and AMC Theatres.

One of the most interesting part of Oriental Movie Metropolis are the street sets which recreate the Shanghaî of mid last century, to be used of course in film production.

No movie metropolis without huge letters on a hill, like the "Hollywood" letters in L.A, and here too the title can be seen miles around.

The studios’ executive CEO Alvin Fu told Variety that "complex’s largest studios (with a floor area of 3,000m2 or roughly 300,000 square feet) are fully booked through the second half of 2018 and will serve as production base for Chinese epic fantasy “Fengshen Trilogy” and a pair of unnamed Hollywood productions. One of them expects to use the studios’ underwater stage and exterior water tank, the world’s largest".The Studios also include a 10,000 m2 soundstage, claimed to be the world’s largest one, something we can believe easily when seeing the size of it.

One thing is sure, they will make movies there, and in a part two article coming soon i will talk about the luxurious Wanda Vista Qingdao Movie Metropolis Hotel, and you'll see the reason why.

NEW "Walt Disney's Disneyland" Book!

Taschen finally release the awaited 352 pages "Walt Disney's Disneyland" hardcover book by Author Chris Nichols. The not-to-be-missed book is already available for pre-order on Amazon for $39.98 only! Click on the link below to order it on Amazon at unbeatable price!

SEARCH ARTICLES in the D&M Archives !

Enter your search terms

Web

disneyandmore.blogspot.com

Submit search form

The Disney and more archives are a gold mine of rare artwork, pictures, and videos. Just enter your key word, choose a search on Disney and more, click, and you're on the road to heaven!

Thanks to "Like" and "Share" the Disney and more Facebook page!

Discover Disney News Central !

Discover Disney News Central, a new website designed to make your Disney fan life easier! Find all the latest posts of your favorite websites in one click!

Don't Miss Article

VERY Important message: Folks, you couldn’t know it because i succeeded to keep posting each day and D&M looks as usual, but in fact t...

NEW! Theme Park Design Book!

David Younger's Theme Park Design & The Art of Themed Entertainment Is the Awesome Book About "Imagineering" that theme parks fans have always dreamed about! Don't miss this fantastic 570 pages book that you can order in one click with the Paypal button below! The Paypal button menu also include an option to buy both the Theme Park Design book AND the Disneyland Paris book if you wish! To learn more about the book, click on the above cover picture.

CONTACT ME

For an important message, or infos about the DLP book, or if you have pictures who will be great for an article on Disney and more you can contact me at: nme4@wanadoo.fr